I have used this for a number of clients through the years and I get the "it sounds fishy to me" angle that some of you espouse. The thing is that if this is done relatively conservatively and prudently then it is effective and you are not getting anything for nothing.
Instead you are re-structuring the debts you currently hold and how you carry them. In effect you might never pay your mortgage down with this line of thinking, because you gradually transition that "bad" mortgage debt to "good" leverage debt.
I suggest that people work with someone to do this who knows what they are doing. There are some variations of the SM out there that involve a lot more borrowing and a lot more risk as a result. These high power versions don't appeal to me personally and I dissuade clients from going that route. Its a lot of additional risk that is really not necessary for most people.
I'm happy to answer any questions people have either by PM or here (if they are general in nature...I can't say whether you're a good candidate for this in a thread or anything like that!).
One thing I would suggest to you amorak is that you consider some investments that are more tax advantaged than a straight dividend ETF. I don't know you, and don't know anything about your situation, but there are ways you can legitimately save yourself a few bucks if you look around at investment vehicles...
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